Jack McGrath has a lot of good friends in the Munster camp, but when he squares off against them at the Aviva Stadium this afternoon, the Leinster prop will be pumped up even more than usual.
Rassie Erasmus brings his men to Dublin for the first Pro14 derby of the season.
And McGrath, who made his first appearance of the campaign in last week's win over Edinburgh, can't wait for battle.
"You always go harder against your mates and I get on very well with a lot of those guys," he told RTÉ Sport.
"Lads are really raring to go. It's an exciting place to be.
"We know a lot of them personally... and the same with them. We know their tricks, they know our tricks. It's going to be an interesting battle. We'll have a few pints after the game I'm sure.
"It's such a huge one. There's a lot of nerves all week. It's almost an international because there's so many internationals on both sides and on the big stage of the Aviva. Guys know everyone is watching; if you make one mistake it's going to be costly."
Having made a late return following his involvement in the Lions tour over the summer, McGrath admits he'll still get up to full speed.
But a packed Lansdowne Road splashed with colour will certainly get the blood pumping and drive him through any fatigue.
"I thought I'd be worse last week!" he said.
"I got to 60 minutes or thereabouts; I was happy enough with that.
"It's incredible, the blue and the red around the stadium. It's a good buzz and it's an exciting time to be back in the blue jersey.
"It was the first time I'd played that long in a while. It's great to be involved and great to be starting [against Munster]. I'm really looking forward to it.
"Every time you play now, especially in Leinster, you have to put on your best performance because guys behind you are training hard and working hard and they want to take that jersey away from you.
"There's no more, 'aw I can have a five or a six out of ten game. You need an eight or nine every week.
"That drives standards and that's how we're going to become the best team in Europe."
Listen to live coverage of Leinster v Munster, RTÉ Radio 1, from 2pm
